RAMALLAH, Official Israeli statistics show that the number of Palestinian structures demolished under the pretext of unlicensed building in several towns and villages across al-Naqab increased to 2200 in 2017.
Statistics issued by the Israeli Internal Security Ministry show that 1,158 structures were demolished in 2016, and the number increased up to 2,200 in 2017.
Palestinian citizens of Israel are usually forced to demolish their own structures and buildings in order to avoid the expensive demolition fees imposed by Israeli authorities when their employees carry out the demolition using heavy machinery.
They are obliged to pay as much as a million shekels ($290,000) as demolition fees in case Israeli bulldozers proceed to demolish the buildings.
Right groups say that the demolition of unrecognized Bedouin villages is a central Israeli policy aimed at removing the indigenous Palestinian population from the Negev and transferring them to government-zoned townships to make room for the expansion of Jewish Israeli communities.
The classification of their villages as unrecognized prevents Bedouins from developing or expanding their communities, while Israeli authorities have also refused to connect unrecognized Bedouin villages to the national water and electricity grids, and have excluded the communities from access to health and educational services.
Source:Palestine News & Info Agency
